William h



(NoModeL) W. H. OURD. MUSIC BEST AND LEAF HOLDER.

'No. 509,612. I Patented Nov. 28, 1893.

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Darren STATES PATENT @rrrcs.

WILLIAM H. CURD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MUSIC-REST AND LEAF-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 509,612, dated November28, 1893- Apulieation filed August 6,1892- Serial No. 442.306- (N0model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VVILLIAM H. CURD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Music-Rests andLeaf-Holders, of which the following is a clear, full, and exactspecification.

My invention relates to devices for holding sheet music or music booksopen before musicians, and facilitating the turning of the leaves.

It has for its primary object to provide a device of this characterwhich shall be simple and effective, and applicable to books or leavesof all shapes and sizes.

In a more limited sense, the primary object of my invention is toprovide a support or rest for the book, and provide the leaves of thebook with separate handles or tabs Whereby each leaf may be readily andconveniently turned without liability of turning too many or the wrongone.

A further object of my invention, is to pro-. vide a simple andeffective means for readily securingthe leaves againstaccidentalturning.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination and arrangements of partshereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings; Figure 1, is a face View of my improved apparatusshowing a book supported thereon. Fig. 2, is a bottom plan of a portionof the rest or support. Fig. 3, is a detail sectional view taken on theline, 33 Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is an end view looking from the right in Fig.1, the book being removed. Fig. 5, is a detail view of one of theclamp-tabs or handles hereinafter described, and Fig. 6, is a Viewsimilar to Fig. 4, but of a modification hereinafter explained.

Like signs of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

The principal feature of my invention con-' sists in providing theleaves of the book with handles or tabs projecting beyond. the edge ofthe book so as to enable the musician to readily grasp any one of them,and thereby turn the leaves one by one in their regular In conjunctionwith these tabs or handles, I may em ploy a suitable rest or support forthe book such as before mentioned, having means on either or both sidesof the book for engaging with these tabs when the book is 'in its openposition, and thereby holding the leaves against accidental turning.

Referring to the drawings, A, B, represent the end members of a frameconstituting the book rest or support. Each of these members is providedwith two side bars 0, D respectively, projecting in opposite directions,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and being provided with straps or keepers E,F, by means of which the bars C, D, are secured together, withcapability of sliding lengthwise relatively to each other, in order thatthe rest may be adjusted for various sizes of books. The straps E, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, are secured to, and carried by the sidebars D of the member B, and they surround the bars 0, while the strapsor keepers F are secured to, and carried by the bars 0 of the member A,and they in turn embrace the bars D. Thusit will be seen that thesestraps or keepers E, F, cannot interfere with the movement of themembers A, B, with relation to each other, and hence, such members havea wide range of adjustment. The member A may be provided in its underside with notches or grooves a, one in each end, for the passage of thebars D, one of such grooves being shown in Fig. 2; and one of themembers A, B, say the member B, is provided with a supplemental bar D,secu red thereto preferably at its mid-length, and passing through anotch or groove similar to the notch or groove a, formed in the underside of the other member A.

The book G may be placed across the bars C, D, D, between the members A,B, as shown in Fig. 1, and when so placed it will find a rest, ifsufficiently long, upon the upper and lower bars 0, D. If however,thebook should not be of sufficient length to reach across the rest itwill find a support at one end upon the intermediate bar D; and as ameans for preventing the book from sagging between the upper and lowerbars of the rest or between the bar D and the lower bars 0, D, I providethe end members A, B, along their inner sides with ledges or flanges a,upon which the edges of the book may be supported, as shown more clearlyin Fig. Each of the end members A, 13, may be provided with a springclip H, secured thereto at any convenient point, and being so formed andarranged as to impinge the book when placed upon the rest, and therebyhold the same from slipping out of place. If desired, one of thesespring clips may be arranged at or near the upper end of each of the endmembers,as shown in Fig.1,and thus insure that the book will be held byat least one of them on each side, whatever thelength ot the book mightbe.

The tabs or handles for attachment to the leaves of the book may consistof spring clamps J, as shown in Fig. 5, provided with elongated stemsj,having cross barsj at their outer ends. These spring clamps may beopened in the ordinary manner by pressing upon their thumb piecesj, andone of them may be readily attached to each of theleaves of the book, orto each leaf in the piece of music about to be played, and they may bearranged one after the other in the order in which the leaves occur,beginning either at the top or bottom. As shown in Fig. 1, two of theleaves carrying the tabs J, J have been turned, but it will of course beunderstood, that all the tabs will be on the left hand side when thepiece is bcgun,and they will be attached to the various leaves in suchorder that the leaves may be turned in their regular order by firstlifting the tab J at the end of the row and carryingit to the positionshown in Fig. l,then the tab J and so on until the desired number ofleaves have been turned. According to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1,the tab corresponding to the first leaf is located at the top or upperend of the row, but it will of course be understood, that if found moreconvenient the arrangement may be reversed.

In order to secure the leaves against accidental turning, I provide eachof the end members A, B with a rack or series of notches K, L,respectively, extending throughout the length of such end members. Theseracks may be formed by bending a wire or strip as shown in Fig. 4-, insuch a manner as to produce downwardly inclined notches Z, or ifdesired, the same end may be accomplished by providing the end memberswith upwardly extending portions L, and forming the notches Zdirectlytherein. The notches Z are so formed that the stems j when allowed torest upon the racks K, L, will descend into one of the notches. The stemafter once entering the notch is held from being withdrawn endwisetherefrom by means of the cross bar j, while its direct outward movementis prevented by the salient loops of the wire, shown in Fig. 4;, and thesalient projections of the portion L, shown in Fig. 6, which constitutethe outer sides of the notches.

\Vhen a book containing more leaves than the piece of music to beplayed, or when a book having a back or still cover is used, the stiffcover or the extra leaves, or both, may he slipped under the springclips ll whose 1nner ends are slightly up't n rn ed or rounded, as shownin Fig. 3, and thus held lirmlyagamst the bars 0, l),D and flanges a,while theremaining leaves, or those only required for 1111- mediate use,may be allowed to rest on top of the clips ll, the end members A, B,extending slightly above the side members C D, shown in Figs. 3, l and(5, so as to form the edges of the book.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of handles or tabs adapted to be secured to theleavesof a book, and having cross bars or hooks adapted to extend beyond theedges of said leaves, and means at the edges of the book with wlncn saidcross bars or hooks engage, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extending beyond the edge of the book,and means for securing said handles or tabs against accidental movement,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extending beyond the edge of the book,and means at both sides of the book for securing said handles or tabsagalnst accidental movement, substantially as set "forth.

4-. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extending beyond the edges of thebook, and a rack at the side of the book in which said handles or labsengage, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extending beyond the edge of the book,and racks arranged at both sides of the book, adapted to secure saidhandles or tabs against accidental movement, substan tially as setforth.

6. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extending beyond the edge of the book,and a book rest having racks adapted to be arranged at both sides of thebook for securing said handles or tabs against accidental movement,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the book leaves, of handles or tabs projectingfrom the edges of said leaves and extendingbeyond the edge of the bookand adjustable racks adapted to be arranged at the sides of the book forsecuring said handles or tabs against accidental movement, substantiallyas set forth.

8. The combination of a book rest consisting of two members adjustablysecured together, a rack carried by each member and tabs or handlesadapted to be secured to the leaves of the book and engage in saidracks, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with the book leaves, of tabs or handles projectingfrom the edges of said leaves, and being provided with a transverseprojection or bar, and racks arranged at the sides of the book forsecuring said tabs or handles against accidental movement, substantiallyas set forth.

10. The combination of a book rest consisting of two members adjustablysecured together, a rack having inclined notches, carried by each ofsaid members, and tabs or handles adapted to be secured to the leaves ofthe book, having projecting stems adapted to engage in said notches,substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of a book rest having two members adj ustablysecured together, spring clips carried by said member, adapted to clampa book thereon, a rack carried by each of said members, and tabs orhandles adapted to be secured to the leaves of the book and engage withsaid racks, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination of the end members A, B, having the flanges a, theside bars 0, D, secured to said members respectively, the straps orkeepers E, F, through which said side bars pass, the intermediate bar D,the spring clips at both ends of said end members, a rack carried byeach of said end members, and tabs or handles adapted to be secured tothe leaves of the book and which engage with said racks, substantiallyas set forth.

13. As a new and useful article of manufacture, a tab or handle forattachment to book leaves having the elongated stemj, and a transverseprojection or bar on said stem, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

WILLIAM H. CURD.

Witnesses:

F. A. HOPKINS, R. O. OMOHUNDRO.

